Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc (NASDAQ:CBRL) reported a third-quarter FY24 sales decline of 1.9% year-on-year to $817.135 million, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $820.614 million.

Comparable store retail sales decreased 3.8%, and comparable store restaurant sales dropped 1.5%.

"As we indicated in our recent business update call, our third quarter results came in below expectations due to softer traffic than we originally anticipated, which underscores the importance of executing our strategic transformation," said Cracker Barrel President and CEO Julie Masino.

General and administrative expenses increased 21% Y/Y to $54.5 million. The operating loss for the quarter was $19.3 million,compared to an operating income of $16.7 million last year.

Adjusted EPS of $0.88 beat the analyst consensus estimate of $0.66.

Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $47.9 million compared to $59.6 million last year.

The company recently reduced its quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share. The dividend is payable on August 6 to shareholders of record as of July 19.

Cracker Barrel held $11.8 million in cash and equivalents as of April 26.

Outlook: Cracker Barrel lowered its FY24 sales outlook to $3.47 billion – $3.51 billion from $3.5 billion – $3.6 billion versus the consensus of $3.474 billion.

CBRL expects FY24 adjusted EBITDA of $200 million – $220 million. The company anticipates capital expenditures of $120 million – $125 million.

CBRL anticipates opening two new Cracker Barrel stores and 8 to 10 new Maple Street Biscuit Company units.

In its recent strategic transformation plan update, Cracker Barrel had warned that its third and fourth quarter fiscal 2024 financial results would be below its previous expectations, primarily due to weaker than anticipated traffic.

Price Action: CBRL shares are trading higher by 3.17% at $46.80 at the last check Thursday.

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